A Convenient Arrangement
by Dawnieorion
Summary: Elena is a twenty year old single mother who is broke. When things finally start to come crashing around her, she meets Damon Salvatore. He offers her an arrangement of convenience. One where he takes care of her and her daughter's every need in exchange for her companionship. Can she handle this new life of luxury and can she keep from falling for her new companion? AU/AH
1. Making A Choice

I decided to try something new and this had been in my head for a little while. It is rated M due to lemons in later chapters. Hopefully, this turns out better than I expect.

I own absolutely noting.

Elena sighed as she walked into her studio apartment and set her daughter and the diaper bag down on the floor. As soon as her hands were free, she turned and flipped the light switch and watched as nothing happened. She tried again and again nothing happened. She crossed the small room and flipped another switch. Still nothing.

"Damn it." She started flicking through the pile of unpaid bills stacked on her kitchen counter. As soon as she found the electric bill she opened it again and found that just as she thought it might be, it was disconnection day. "Damn it!" She threw the stack of mail into the trash can as tears immediately started pooling in her eyes.

"Mama?" Her tiny two year old daughter walked over to her. "Mama? I eat?"

Elena looked down through her teary eyes at her little mini me. "Are you hungry, baby?"

"Yes, mama."

Elena turned and looked around her dark kitchen. What could she make her daughter to eat with no electricity? She started searching through the cupboards and was relieved to see that she still had some bread that hadn't molded yet. She pulled some lunch meat out of the refrigerator and quickly made a turkey and ham sandwich before remembering there were some chips left in the diaper bag. It wasn't the healthiest meal, but would have to do for the night. She watched as Olivia ate her dinner and dug the electric bill back out of the trash can. One hundred forty two dollars and eleven cents past due, she was a month and a half behind. She didn't have to look in her check book to know that there was only forty-seven dollars and eighty-one cents left in her check book. She would have to try and figure something out in the morning.

It was three a.m., and she was lying awake in bed with Olivia cuddled beside her. She had run through every possible way of getting money that she could. She couldn't ask either of her remaining parents. Her adoptive parents had passed away when she was seventeen when their car drove off a bridge on their way home one night. Her birth mother and step-father had their hands full. They had just bought a house just outside of Grove Hill with their two daughters and didn't have the money to spare. Her birth father was god knows where doing god knows what. Her twin sister, Katherine, was in Paris taking part in a study abroad program through Whitmore College and she couldn't ask her Aunt Jenna because she was still taking care of their younger brother Jeremy. There was absolutely no one she could ask for help.

It was times like this that she almost wished she received some help from her ex, but he didn't even know that Olivia existed. The last Elena heard he was in Florida living the bachelor life. She didn't get paid again for another six days and knew that she could not keep her daughter without electricity for a week.

Of course, there was always the other option; the last resort that her friend, Andie, had offered her several times, but she had really hoped to avoid if at all possible. She had met Andie at the Grove Hill Coffee Shop, where Elena waitressed, nearly a year and a half ago and they had become close friends. After six months of talking daily, Andie told her what it was that she did for a living. She was a madam. Nothing like what Elena imagined took place in New York or Los Angeles, but Andie made a decent living off the handful of girls and the few guys that she had. Once she had learned of Elena's predicament, she had offered to employ Elena a few days a month, promising that just two nights a week would be double what Elena brought home each week from the coffee shop.

Elena had always graciously declined the offer though. She had never been in such a bad predicament to have to resort to such means. On top of it all, she wasn't comfortable putting herself in that predicament. She had only been with one man and he had come right out and told her that she was a lousy lover every time they were together. That didn't seem to stop him from climbing on top her almost every night anyhow. But as she watched Olivia sleep, she knew she might just have to get over her insecurities for a few days. She didn't have the money to get the electric back on and couldn't even earn tips until she returned to work in four days.

It was nearly eight thirty when Olivia woke up; luckily there were still pop-tarts in the cupboard that she could give Olivia for breakfast. When she finally got Olivia dressed, she made her way down to her junky Honda Civic. She hated the little car. It was ten years old, the passenger window would not roll down, it had no air conditioning, the heater smelt to high heavens and it was missing two seatbelts. But it was all she had; she had hit a deer on her way home from her mom's three months earlier and this was the best she could afford at the time. She strapped Olivia into her car seat and headed towards her parents' house, hopeful that they would keep Olivia while she met with Andie.

It took twenty minutes to get to her parent's new house. They had to upsize recently. Isobel and her father, John Gilbert, had accidently gotten pregnant with Katherine and Elena when they were in high school. Luckily, John's brother and sister-in-law, Grayson and Miranda Gilbert, were able to adopt the girls. Isobel met her current husband, Alaric Saltzman when she was a student at Duke University and had two more daughters. Now she was six months pregnant with a little boy. She pulled in and quickly saw that somebody was awake as the kitchen lights were on, Elena was betting on Alaric.

"Guess where we are?" Elena turned and unbuckled Olivia.

Olivia looked up from the toy she had been playing with and gasped. "Nana and papa's." Why Olivia was so surprised was beyond Elena. Olivia spent more time with her grandparents then she did Elena. They climbed out of the car and let themselves in the front door.

"Mom? Ric?" Elena called as they made their way into the kitchen.

Olivia ran ahead of her. "Papa!" She shrieked as Elena caught up.

"There's my little girl. Where have you been? I haven't seen you since last night." He tossed the toddler up and caught her. She wrapped her arms around Alaric's neck and hugged tightly. He looked over her head towards Elena. "Were we keeping her today? If we are, I really hate to admit that I forgot."

"No, I was going to ask if you guys would mind though. I need to go see someone about a possible job. I'm sorry, I know it's Saturday and your day off." She was practically begging and knew it.

"Of course. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." She lied, not wanting to bother them anymore than usual. She knew that if she asked he would hand over whatever she needed as long as he could. But she couldn't ask, not when they had just bought a new house and were expecting a new baby. She certainly couldn't tell them what she was about to go do.

"Your mom's still in bed if you want to run up and say hi to her." He let Elena know before turning to Olivia. "Do you want to help papa fix pancakes for everyone?"

"Bacon?" Olivia asked.

Alaric laughed. "Okay, go get it." He set her down and she took off to the refrigerator.

Elena chuckled and made her way upstairs and let herself into the master bedroom. Sure enough, Isobel was still lying in bed, appearing to be between awake and asleep. She crossed the room and slipped into the bed, laying her head on Isobel's shoulder.

"Elena? You're here early. I wasn't expecting you this morning."

"I'm going to talk to someone about a job. I was just going to see if you guys would mind. She's downstairs helping Ric make bacon right now. I would have called, but my phones out of minutes."

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure the girls would love to spend the day with her."

"I'm sorry, I hate asking all the time. I promise, when Kat gets back, I'll ask her."

"How could I say no to my granddaughter? Have you talked to your sister lately?"

"I'm sure there's an e-mail waiting next time I check it. I might check it when I come back to get Olivia." They laid in silence for a moment. "I had better get going. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Take your time. The girls were asking to go to the zoo. We probably won't be back until late this afternoon."

"All right. Love you." Elena jumped up and headed back down the stairs into the kitchen where she found Olivia sitting on the counter as Ric poured chocolate chips into the pancakes on the griddle. "Livi, I'm headed out, I'll see you tonight okay." She kissed Olivia's head. "Love you." She gave Ric a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you again. Mom's up."

It was another twenty minutes back into town to Andie's house. Andie let her in and it wasn't until they were settled at Andie's kitchen table that they finally quit making small talk.

"So, is everything okay?" Andie asked as she added sugar to her coffee.

Elena took a breath. "No, I think it might be time that I accept your offer." Elena suddenly found her coffee cup very interesting.

"What happened?"

"I'm so behind. My electric was shut off yesterday and I don't know how I'm going to make rent next month. My hours have been cut I only work two days this week. Last week, I had to decide between my car insurance and making sure Olivia has food. Before too long, she and I will be living in the car."

"Are you sure Elena? I know we've talked about it before and I know you're not really comfortable with it." Andie reached across to take Elena's hand.

"No, I'm really not, but I have somebody else to worry about." Tears started to pool in Elena's eyes again. "I was wondering, do you have any repeat customers, who aren't into anything weird, so that I'm not constantly with somebody different?"

"No, I don't have any regular customers like that, but I do have somebody in mind. I have a friend. He's travels a lot, but he lives over in Mystic Falls permanently." She looked down at the caller id of her now ringing phone. "I have to take this. Give me about two hours and call me. Let me see if he is still looking for anybody." I nodded as Andie answered the phone and left the room. Elena stood and rinsed out her coffee cup before leaving and heading out to her car. As soon as she got in, she heard her cell phone ring out, letting her know she had a text message.

Confused, she pulled her phone out of her purse. It was a pre-paid phone and she knew she was out of minutes. She opened up her unread text message and found that she had three hundred minutes. Isobel must have called and added minutes for her after she left.

In the two hours Andie had asked for, Elena had gone home and straightened up the apartment. Finally, she called Andie back, who answered on the third ring.

"Elena, good news. I did get in touch with him. It's a little different than what any of my girls do."

Elena paled. "What do you mean? Nothing weird, right."

"No, I don't think. He could probably explain it a lot better than I could. I promise, he is not a creep or dangerous or anything, why don't you meet with him and let him explain more of what the arrangement would be? He lives over in Mystic Falls, its only about a forty five minute drive. I promise you'll be perfectly safe with him"

"I don't know." Elena hesitated.

"Elena, I would not send you any place that I did not feel to be one hundred percent safe. I've known him since he and I were twelve."

"Okay. Can you text me the directions?"

It was another hour before she was pulling into the driveway that Andie had instructed her to take. She was certain that she was in the wrong place. The house coming into view was huge. The apartment complex she lived in would fit in this house at least four times. She pulled around the circle and parked near the front door. As she walked up to the door, she glanced back at her car and began to really feel out of place.

After a quick pep talk to herself, she raised her shaking hand and knocked. Moments later, a women with short, shaggy, brunette hair answered. "Hello, can I help you?" Her very prominent English accent rang out.

"My name's Elena Gilbert, I'm here to see….oh god, I never caught his name. I'm sorry, this is crazy. Maybe I should go. I think I might have the wrong house." Elena ran her hand through her hair and started to turn away.

"Rose? Who's at the door?" Elena heard a man's voice call out.

"A young girl by the name of Elena Gilbert." The girl, Rose apparently, called back into the house.

"Bring her in, I've been expecting her."

"Right this way, Miss Gilbert. It looks as if you have the right house after all." Rose smiled at her.

"Thank you." Elena followed Rose into the house. She led her around a little and into a library of sorts where a man was standing with his back to them in front of some books. He finally turned around and she got her first glimpse of him. He had raven black hair, piercing blue eyes, and she could only imagine what he looked like under the t-shirt that was just a little too tight.

"Thank you, Rose, that'll be all." He gestured to Elena, "please, have a seat. I'm Damon Salvatore."

Please let me know what you think. I already have most of another chapter ready and will just wait to see if there is any point in me continuing. So if you like it and want me to continue, please review.


	2. Meeting Damon

Here's Damon and Elena's making their agreement. Hopefully, you like it.

Elena POV

"_Thank you, Rose, that'll be all." He gestured to Elena, "please, have a seat. I'm Damon Salvatore." _

"Hi, I'm Elena." I introduced myself as I sat down in the chair in front of his desk.

"Hello, Elena. May I say that you seem a little young to be in Andie's line of work?" Damon smiled at me.

"I'm not. In that line of work, I mean." I started stumbling over my words. "I've never done anything like this before. I don't even know what I'm doing here. I'm sorry. Maybe I should just go. I'm probably wasting your time." I started to grab my purse off the floor where I had sat it beside the chair.

"Wait!" Damon held up his hand. "So you don't work for Andie?" I shook my head. "Well, I've never ordered from Andie either. She didn't tell you anything about me?"

"No, I didn't even know your name. The only thing she told me was that you travel a lot. She said that it was something different, not like what she normally does."

He laughed. "Yes, I do travel a lot. Tell me about you, Elena. What brought you to Andie for what you tell me is the first time."

"I'm a single mother. I have a two year old daughter, Olivia, and it's been rough. I started out okay, using what was left from my parents' will when she was first born. Last year the money ran out and I took a job waitressing at the coffee shop in Grove Hill. It was just enough to cover everything, but three months ago I hit a deer on my way home and totaled my car. I scraped together everything I had to get another car as soon as possible so that I could make sure that Olivia had everything she needed. But buying the car really hurt me. I'm behind on everything and my hours have been cut and I can't afford to make ends meet.

Andie's offered several times and I've always refused. Last night though, my electric was shut off and I can't afford to turn it back on at all. So, I went over to Andie's this morning. I asked her for some type of repeat customer. I can't imagine being with someone different every night. She sent me to you."

"What about the father? Don't you get any child support?" Damon inquired.

"He doesn't even know that Olivia exists and I don't plan on ever letting him know."

Damon nodded. "Well, you told me how you got here today. Why don't I tell you why Andie thought that you and I might work well together?" I nodded. "I do travel a lot. I've had several long term relationships over the past few years and they never work out. They usually end up wanting more than I can offer at this time. They want me to be here every day, or they get upset if I don't answer their call or text within two minutes, or if I take them with me on business trips, they get upset because I can't be with them all day long. Four years ago, my father passed away and the family business fell on my shoulders. My brother was still in high school and was a minor and honestly since he wasn't first born, he would have never helmed the company anyhow. I do get lonely. I don't necessarily enjoy coming home to an empty house. It would be nice if I have companionship at home and maybe for local functions.

What I have been hoping to find is someone who understands that I can not be here every day or spend all day texting back. When I am home, I do like to do some _couply _ things."

"So, Andie thought that I would be a good companion for you? It sounds a bit like an arranged marriage." I spoke softly.

"Given what you told me a few moments ago about not wanting to be with several different men, I would imagine she thought of me because it would be a committed relationship." Damon speculated.

"So, what would this _arrangement _entail exactly?" I asked nervously.

"Well, should you choose to accept, it would be a committed relationship as I said. You would move in here and I would provide everything you need, should it be clothing, meals, or personal items. I will be honest, I do want a family, so maybe down the line if we feel that this arrangement is working out, we could discuss children."

"So, it really would be an arranged marriage, just without the marriage part." I clarified.

"Sure." Damon smiled. "You look very nervous, why don't I show you around the house." He stood up and held his hand out to me. I took his hand after a moment and stood to follow him. "So, this is the library. I do work from in here quite often, but I have an office in the house as well."

We were walking down the hallway when we ran back into Rose. "Rose, do you have a moment?" Damon stopped her.

"Of course."

"Rose, this is Elena, she may be moving into the house with her daughter." Damon turned back to me. "Elena, this is Rose, she is my housekeeper. She cooks, cleans, and takes care of the house while I am away. If there is ever anything you need and I'm not around, just ask Rose. She doesn't actually live here, but she is here quite often."

"It's nice to meet you, Elena. If you ever need anything, just yell for me. I'm usually either in the kitchen or in the basement doing laundry." I nodded as she headed on down the hallway.

"I have to say, this is the largest house I think I've ever been inside." I told him honestly as we climbed the stairs after showing me the parlor slash living room, the dining room, the kitchen, and his office. He had told me that across the fifteen thousand square feet property there were seven bedrooms, each with their own adjoining bathrooms.

We walked most of the second floor until we came to a closed door. "Um, this is my bedroom." Damon opened the door and led me inside. This bedroom _was _larger than my studio apartment. The massive four poster bed wouldn't even fit in my apartment. I wondered through, as he also pointed out the master bathroom attached. He could hold a party in the walk in shower.

"Wow, my apartment would fit in here twice."

Damon gave a short laugh. "It is a bit big I suppose. So do you think that this is something you want to try?"

"What about Olivia? She kind of has to go where I go."

"Of course. She would be more than welcome. I would make sure that you are both taken care of. Any other questions?"

"What if-" I took a breath, unsure of how to ask. "I've only been with one man, Olivia's father, and he repeatedly told me how awful I was in bed. I'm worried that I would be a waste of your time."

"Well." Damon came closer to me. "I suppose we could always test it out and see if we want to pursue this any further." He was now inches away from me. His hand came up and his fingers entwined into my hair as he brought me closer so that our lips met. I knew walking in that I would likely end up in bed with him today but figured that it would be methodical. This was amazing. His lips were warm and moist and it took only seconds before our tongues met. I was very easily melting into him. My hands wound up his body and into his hair to pull him closer as he pulled away and made his way down my neck. I couldn't help myself, I moaned. It had been three years since I had been with a man and it had never been like this. He pulled away with a smirk. "I think we can work something out."

I gasped for air. "Wait, I thought that-" I stumbled, confused.

"Not today." He must have been reading my mind. "I think you're a little nervous still. Don't get me wrong, that was great; but, why don't we take it slow? Would you feel better?"

I let out a breath I didn't know that I was holding in. "That sounds good. Thank you."

He took my hand. "Come on, I'll walk you out." He led me back down the stairs and out the front door where he got a glimpse of my car. "Yours, I presume." I nodded. "Hmm. So you said that you have no electricity, I assume that you and Olivia would be moving in pretty soon."

I let out a small sigh. "When would be good for you?"

Damon let go of my hand so that he could pull his cell phone out of his back pocket. He scrolled through it for a few moments before looking back up at me. "I don't have anything pressing to take care of today. Will everything you need fit in your car?" I looked at my little compact car.

"I honestly don't have much, but I'll have to make two trips. My daughter is with my parents right now at the zoo. I won't be able to pick her up until this afternoon." I told him honestly.

"Why don't I come along and help you? Would you mind? We can go and grab everything you need and take care of your loose ends and get everything settled before you pick up Olivia." His offer was kind, but I was a little embarrassed for him to see my dainty little apartment.

"Sure, that would be great." I started towards my car when he stopped me.

"Why don't we take mine? I have an SUV that we can take so that we can fit more."

I nodded. "Let me just grab my purse." I quickly grabbed my purse and cell phone from the car before following him around the house to a huge garage. He let me in through a side door and I again felt embarrassed about my car, there were two SUV's and three cars, just looking I could see the logos of Cadillac, Porsche, Mercedes, Ferrari, and finally an antique Chevy. His tires probably cost more than my car. He held the door open to the Escalade so that she could climb in. Moments later, he slid into the driver's seat and took off down the driveway.

If you like it, please let me know. I'm kind of feeling good about this but at the same time, I'm a little iffy.


	3. Moving In

I had really hoped to post this Friday night, but was a little iffy about this chapter. I love the reviews I'm getting and thank you so much for taking the time to review. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. It's mainly getting Elena moved into the house and making small talk to get to know each other.

ELENA POV

"Do you still have family in the area?" Damon was making small talk as we headed down the highway back to Grove Hill.

"My birth mother and step-father live in Grove Hill still with their daughters. My birth father is somewhere, who knows where. My adoptive parents died three years ago. My sister is in Paris and my brother lives with my Aunt here in Mystic Falls. What about you? Any family?" I looked over at him as he drove, taking the opportunity to look at him for a few minutes.

"Here, I only have a brother and an uncle, the rest of my family lives in Italy. My mother passed when I was nine and my father died about four years ago. Stefan, my brother, is in Italy with our grandparents. He needed a change of scenery and so I sent him over there about six months ago."

After a few more minutes of silence, Damon brought up her car. "Not to sound pretentious and snobby, but how decent is your car? It looks as if it's on its last leg."

"It is." She admitted. "I bought it cheap. I just needed something to get me back and forth so that I could work. My step father has been trying to help me get it running better, but I think that it might be out of his expertise. But as long it holds up, and keeps getting me back and forth, its fine. I just hope that it keeps holding up now that my commute to work is nearly an hour instead of just right down the road."

Damon looked over at her confused. "Your commute to work? Part of our arrangement was that I take care of anything you and Olivia need. Why would you still be working?"

"I can't expect you to take care of everything. My job doesn't pay much, but it helps."

"I told you that I would take care of everything and I meant _everything_. Your drive to Grove Hill each way would completely use up everything you make. It would be pointless. I have more than enough to take care of everything you need. So, before we head home, we'll need to stop by so that you can quit your job."

_Quit my job? I can't quit my job. That's too much. _"What would I be doing all day without a job when you are out of town?"

"Spend time with your daughter; take her to the zoo, picnics in the park. Occasionally, I'll be able to take the two of you with me on business trips where you do touristy things and make memories with Olivia. This arrangement wouldn't really be worth it on my end if you were at work when I was home, now would it?" Damon made a valid point.

"When you put it like that, I guess that does make sense. I would like more time with Olivia, I have missed so much already."

"Back to my original question, your car, what all is wrong with it?"

"Where to start, the air conditioning, the heater, the windows, its missing seatbelts."

"It's louder than a Learjet. That sounds like a lot to fix for an older car. Do you have any inclination to keep it?"

"How else would I get around?" A thought crossed my mind. "Wait, I am allowed to leave the house, right?"

Damon laughed. "Of course, you're not a prisoner. I was going to suggest you sell it and you can drive anything in the garage you like or I can buy you something else of your choice."

"Wow! Um, a new car's not necessary. Thank you , though."

"Thank you for everything. I really appreciate everything you're doing for us." I blurted after a few moments of silence.

He smiled, "don't worry about it. Who knows, maybe we're exactly what we're each needing right now."

It was another half hour before we got to my tiny apartment. I unlocked the door and let Damon in. We had stopped and grabbed a couple boxes on our way into town. "All of the furniture stays. It was a furnished apartment. The only things that are mine are the clothes, food, and the random stuff you see lying around." I told him as I took a box and headed over to the dresser to start packing what few clothes I still had left.

"What about this?" Damon gestured to a small basket that housed most of Olivia's toys.

"Um. the whole basket can go." I told him as I closed the last drawer of the dresser, turned out that all of mine and Olivia's clothes could fit into one large box.

"Are these all of her toys?" Damon asked curiously.

"Yeah, for the most part. Mom and Ric have some at their house since she spends so much time there." I told him absentmindedly as I folded the box up and headed into the bathroom. I t only took forty-five minutes to pack everything up and put the apartment back to the way it should be. We climbed back into the Escalade and I directed him towards the coffee shop where I worked. It only took me ten minutes to go in and quit before we were headed back to Mystic Falls. I would have to come back throughout the week to actually speak to the building manager and turn my keys in for the apartment.

Hours later, I had everything unpacked. Rose had cleared space for me in Damon's room while we were gone and Damon told me that I could move Olivia into the bedroom across the hall from us. The day had gone pretty well. She was finding it pretty easy to be around Damon so far. She was outside exploring the gardens in the backyard when her phone alerted her to a new text message.

_Leaving the zoo now. Grabbing dinner on our way home. Love Mom._

I quickly replied, glad she gave me more of a warning since I was now twice as far away. _Okay, I'll meet you at the house. _

I turned around and headed back into the house to let Damon know that I needed to head out to my parents. I found him back in the library on the phone working. He saw me come in and motioned for me to come in. I came in as quietly as I could and sat back down in one of the chairs to wait while he finished his call.

"I have to be in Seattle later this week, but if I can fit it in, I'll make a pit stop there on my way back home. Hold on a second." Damon covered up the speaker and looked over his desk at me. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I was going to let you know that I am headed to my mom's to get Olivia. She just texted me that they were on their way home." I held up my phone awkwardly as if he wouldn't know that her text came across the phone.

"Of course. Just a second." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key ring that he handed across the desk to me. "The Escalade is still in the driveway if you want to take it."

I looked down at the keys in my hand. "Are you sure?"

"Of course. Remember? I told you that you could drive anything in the garage you like. Just let me know when you're ready and I'll do what I can to get your car sold for you."

I nodded. "It can go anytime."

"Okay. Oh, hey, I think the Escalade might need gas on your way back." He pulled a hundred dollar bill out of his wallet and handed it to me.

"Oh, thank you." I took the money from him and put it in my pocket. "I'll be back in a little bit." He nodded and returned to his call. I silently left the library and headed out to the driveway to grab Olivia's carseat before heading out.

As I signaled to turn into my parents' driveway I was suddenly overcome with fear. _What if they see the SUV I'm in? How do I explain this? How do I tell them I just up and moved to another town with a man I just met today? _I parked the SUV and took a deep breath before getting out and making my way into the house. I walked in to Alaric in his favorite sofa chair with Olivia sound asleep on his chest. I loved seeing Ric and Olivia together, it was a bond that not even many blood relatives had.

"She's out, huh?" I went and sat down beside Isobel on the couch.

"I'm actually surprised Ric is still awake considering he spent the whole chasing after Livi and carrying her when she got tired of walking. She absolutely refused to sit in the stroller." Mom laughed. "Did you get the job you were going for?"

_There it is. How do I explain this? Well, mom, I went to see a madam about prostituting myself out and ended up making a deal to be a man's live-in companion. Probably won't go well. _"Umm, no, but something else did happen today that I should probably tell you about." _Crap! What do I say? _After a moment's silence, I decided to go on and hope that everything came out right. "I moved today. Over to Mystic Falls, actually."

"I didn't know you were planning on moving." Ric looked over with interest.

"I hadn't been, but you know, money's been tight and a friend offered to let me move in and help me out for a while." It was a vague version of what happened.

"Are you still going to be at the coffee shop? That seems like quite a drive, especially with that little car of yours." Mom brought up the details that I had hoped to avoid for now.

"Actually, I won't be working at the coffee shop anymore and I'm selling the car. There are plenty of cars at the house that I can borrow when I need to."

"Okay. I can't say that I'm not glad you're getting rid of that clunker. I'm always scared that you're going to break down in it." Mom smiled at me as I remembered the cell phone minutes that magically appeared this morning.

"Thank you, by the way, for the minutes on my phone this morning." I smiled over at mom as Ric stood and headed into the kitchen while carrying Livi.

"Don't worry about it." She looked up at the clock that showed that it was a few minutes after six. "If you're living in Mystic Falls now, you really should be going so that you're not on the road too long after dark. Are you still coming over for Christmas dinner next week?"

I froze. I had obviously planned on spending the afternoon with my family, but I should probably talk to Damon before I give a definitive yes. "Probably. I will let you know for sure though tomorrow." Maybe I could offer to bring Damon with me. He would probably end up meeting the family eventually anyhow. Plus, if I end up telling them that he is my live in boyfriend (which would be the simplest explanation), it would make perfect sense that I would want to spend the day with him. "Would you mind if I brought someone with me? I haven't checked with them yet, but I just want to make sure before I do."

Isobel looked at me suspiciously for a moment. "As in a boyfriend, maybe? Is that who you moved in with today? I didn't even know you were seeing anybody."

So close. I sighed. "Yeah. I've been keeping it quiet," I quickly lied, "but, he's a really nice person" _or so it seems so far _"he offered for me to move in with him today to help me out and I accepted."

The entire atmosphere changed and suddenly I felt like I was in high school again. "Tell me, what's his name, how did you meet, tell me everything!"

I involuntarily blushed, but better just to get it all over with. "His name's Damon, we met through a mutual friend. There's not much to tell yet. Although, he may be the most gorgeous man I've ever laid eyes on." I might as well give her something and it won't hurt to admit that to mom. He was gorgeous; it was a bit of a miracle that he didn't have women fawning all over him. "I'm sure you'll meet him soon."

This seemed to satisfy Isobel for the moment. Thank goodness I only have a basic cell phone. If I had had a camera phone, my mother would be demanding to see pictures of him and it would then seem weird that I didn't have any.

Luckily for me, Ric came back into the living room at that point with the diaper bag. "If you're ready, I'll carry Livi out so we don't have to jostle her quite as much."

I nodded. "That would be great. Thanks Ric." I gave Isobel a quick hug. "I'll call you tomorrow about Christmas."

I found Ric outside looking at the giant SUV that I was currently driving. "This sure is a step up from the Honda you've been driving."

I laughed as I pressed the button on the remote to unlock the doors. "Tell me about it. She's on the passenger side." I gestured as I took the diaper bag from him and placed it in the front seat. After making sure that Livi was settled and thanking Ric again, I was headed back to Mystic Falls.

I arrived back at Damon's house a little after seven thirty with Livi still asleep. At this point it meant one of two things: one, she would sleep the whole night through, or two, she would wake up halfway through the night and be up for hours. Maybe I would get lucky and she actually sleep the entire night. After getting the Escalade into the garage (I hope that he wanted it back in the garage and not the driveway where we had parked it earlier), I started to make my way up the stairs with Livi asleep in my arms. I had checked the library to let Damon know that I was back but didn't find him, I didn't know offhand where to check for him. I quickly found the bedroom that Damon had offered for Olivia and was surprised to find Damon in there.

"Hey!" I whispered as I set the diaper bag down on the dresser across from the bed. I noticed that the bed had been moved while I was gone. "Did you rearrange the furniture?"

"I did. After you left, Rose pointed out that the bed in here may not be perfect for a toddler. She helped me move the bed against the wall _and" _he gestured to the guard that now ran the entire length of the bed not against the wall, "install the baby guard that she insisted the bed needed to make sure that Olivia didn't roll off throughout the night."

"Thank you. I was a little worried about it." I admitted as I leaned across the guard and laid Livi down before removing her coat. After getting her settled and turning on the nightlight that I had brought from home, I turned to head out of the room when I noticed that Damon was still in the room.

"I hope you don't mind, Rose also instructed me to buy these." Damon pulled two electronic devices out of a bag.

"Are those baby monitors?" I had never had to have them since she had slept in my bed with me since the day I brought her home.

"They are. They have the camera feature on them as well." Damon worked for a few minutes to attach the camera to the end of the bed so that I could see the entire head of the bed on the monitor. "How's that?"

I looked at the monitor. "Perfect." He grabbed the shopping bags and we quietly the room. As soon as we were out of earshot and not going to bother Livi, I turned to thank Damon again. "Thank you again, you really didn't have to do that."

"Don't worry about it. I promised I would take care of you both. I'm just keeping my word."

"Even still, I really do appreciate it." I followed Damon down the stairs when my stomach decided to start growling.

Damon turned and looked at me. "If you're hungry, help yourself to anything in the kitchen. Make yourself at home."

"I will." I promised, although it would probably still take me a few days.

I'm still a little iffy about this chapter, it seems at places a little awkward to me; but then again if I was in a real-life situation like this, then I suspect that it would be awkward. I did want to show that Damon is committed to making sure that she is comfortable for both herself and her daughter. The next chapter is ready and finally concludes her first day at the house. I didn't think I would ever finish the first day, but I feel really good about the next chapter. It does contain some Damon/Elena bonding.

Let me know what you think. Hopefully this turned out better than I think it did.


	4. Decorating with Damon

So, this chapter concludes her first day with Damon. Thank you for the reviews, you have no idea what they mean to me. I have been working on my own original novels for a few years but have always felt more comfortable with Fanfiction. I had hoped to have this posted a few days ago but was away from my computer.

Elena POV

After having a turkey sandwich, I found Damon in the parlor watching some action movie. As soon as I walked into the room, he turned the TV down and looked over at me. "Did you find something to eat?"

"I did. I'm just kind of lost at the moment." I admitted as I sat down on the opposite side of the couch.

"If it helps, you're in the parlor." Damon smirked at me. "Seriously though, what has you lost?"

"I don't really know what to do at the moment. Livi is asleep, all of our laundry is done thanks to Rose, and there's not a mess of toys that I need to clean up. I'm not really used to free time." I had tried to take care of the laundry myself, but Rose had insisted that that was why she was there. She instructed me just to leave the dirty laundry in the hampers and she would take care of it each day. It would take me some time to adjust to having a housekeeper and not taking care of everything myself.

"Well, that's when you take five minutes for yourself. By the way, how much were you hoping to get for your car? I think I can have it sold tomorrow for you."

"Umm, I only paid fifteen hundred for it. Do you think you can get at least half that for it?" I asked doubtful that he could even get that much.

"I think I can manage that." Damon assured me.

"So, I know this is weird and all, but my mom has invited us all over for Christmas Dinner. She was asking questions and I hope you don't mind, but I told her that we had been quietly dating for a while. I couldn't tell her the truth." I admitted sheepishly.

Damon looked thoughtful for a moment. "I understand, its fine." He looked embarrassed for a moment. "Can you believe that I forgot Christmas was next week? Between traveling and mergers and acquisitions and Stef being in Italy, it completely slipped my mind. I wonder why Rose hasn't mentioned decorating." He seemed to be thinking about something. "Did you have any plans for Christmas?"

"Not really. I had hoped to go get a couple small things for Livi to open Christmas morning this week if I could. Then just dinner at my mom's. My sister and father are both out of town, but my mom's parents are going to be there, I think."

Damon was quiet for a few minutes. I hope I hadn't upset him by telling Isobel that he and I had been dating for a while or by asking him if he wanted to go to her house for Christmas dinner. Finally, about thirty seconds before I went insane, he spoke again. "Maybe we should bring the decorations upstairs?"

"Please don't go out of your way on my and Livi's account."

"It's really not a problem. There should be at least a tree up." He decided and stood up quickly. "Come on, let's see what we can find downstairs." I hesitated for a moment, but finally stood up and followed him down the stairs. It took a little bit of looking before Damon eventually found what he was looking for. "Here it is. It might be a little big, but it's a tree nonetheless." He pulled a 12 foot Christmas tree off a shelf. I took an end to help him carry it up the stairs. After we got it back into the parlor, he told me to go back downstairs and find the decorations. Luckily those were in labeled plastic totes that were easy to bring up the stairs.

It took Damon forty-five minutes to put the tree together. Every time I offered to help, he told me that he had it and to feel free to decorate the rest of the room. When I was pretty satisfied with the room, I sat and waited for Damon. Luckily for me, he was just finishing putting it together.

He clapped his hands together once it was ready for decorating. "So, ornaments now, right?" He turned and asked me. Luckily, the tree was pre-lit so we didn't have to mess with ttrying to get the top of it wrapped in lights.

I laughed. "Have you never decorated a tree before?" I opened a box of ornaments and started hung one on the tree.

He thought about it for a moment. "Not since my mom was alive. After that, dad always had the staff do it. Stef and I would go to bed at night and wake up the next morning to a fully decorated house."

"That's sad. I loved decorating the tree growing up. I can't wait until Livi gets old enough to be excited about it." I handed Damon a box of ornaments and took one for myself. We decorated in silence for a few minutes until I looked over at Damon grabbing another box. "You're clumping."

He looked up at me startled. "What the hell is clumping?"

"Hanging all of the ornaments in one spot." I gestured to the spot I was working on. "You need to space them out, like this." I started rearranging his ornaments so that they were better spaced apart.

"All right, all right. I'll do better with this box." He was laughing at me. It was surprising to me that we were at such ease with each other so quickly. Perhaps though, it had to do with tree decorating. It was such a mundane task but at the same time it was a moment that should bring most families together. It may not have been my first choice for a bonding activity, but it was working.

We were admiring our handiwork. The whole parlor looked great, if I did say so myself. "It looks like Christmas." I smiled up at Damon before starting to close up the plastic totes to carry back downstairs. He grabbed two of them and followed me back down the stairs.

"Thank you for tonight. It was fun." We were headed back up the stairs after putting everything away.

"Thank you. I apparently learned something new tonight."

I laughed at him. "I thought tonight would be awkward." I told him truthfully as I yawned.

"No need to be awkward." He raised one eyebrow at me. "Although, I should warn you, I do enjoy sleeping in the nude."

I nearly choked. "Well, it is your bed." I couldn't meet his eyes.

"I'm kidding. Mostly."

I nodded. "I think I'm going to get ready for bed." I headed for the stairs.

"I'll be up in a few minutes. I'm going to make sure that all of the doors are locked." I nodded again and finished making my way up the stairs to check on Olivia before going to bed.

I was searching frantically for something to wear to bed with Damon's comment running through my mind. _I do enjoy sleeping in the nude._ He said he was kidding, mostly, but what if he really was. I mean, granted I knew I would eventually see him naked, but was I ready tonight. He said we could take things slow, which was so relieving but how long would he be willing to wait. I was torn between yoga pants or shorts with my tank top. Finally, I decided on the shorts. I had always bundle Olivia and myself up at the apartment so that I could turn the heat down a couple more degrees at night to save money. Worrying about the heat did not seem to be an issue here.

After I was dressed, I came back out of the adjacent bathroom to find Damon entering the room. I smiled at him as I grabbed my toiletry bag out of the top drawer of the dresser and headed back into the bathroom to brush my teeth. Damon followed me into the bathroom and watched me in the mirror for a moment before looking back down at my toiletry bag. I finished brushing my teeth and put my toothbrush back in the bag before Damon finally spoke.

"You know you're not a guest, right." I caught his reflection in the mirror, confused. "I don't know if you noticed this or not, but there are two sinks in here." He started opening drawers. "There's plenty of room for your toothbrush and hairbrush."

I blushed. "Of course. Thank you, again." I took my bag and placed it in the top drawer. I walked back into the bedroom and it occurred to me. I was about to get into bed with a man. I had never actually shared a bed with a man before. I was only seventeen when Olivia was conceived during one of the random times her father and I had found ourselves alone.

To help my panic, Damon walked out of the bathroom right then in nothing but silk pajama pants. Oh lord, help me. I could not tear my eyes from his torso. His smooth chest, his muscular stomach – not a full six pack, but the outline was there- or the hairline that ran from his belly button down and below the waistband of his pajamas that hung just low enough so that you could start to see the v-shape that his body made.

Damon cleared his throat and I quickly shook my head and looked up at him. He was smirking. "Oh my God. I am so sorry. I didn't mean to stare." I stood up and gestured towards the massive (intimidating) bed that took up the corner of the bedroom. "I didn't know if you had a particular side of the bed."

"Mm-hmm." He murmured, obviously amused that I had been staring, before gesturing to the side of the bed closest to the bedroom door. "I usually sleep on that side." I nodded and grabbed the video monitor for Olivia before heading to the side of the bed closest to the balcony doors. Very conscious of my every mood, I quietly slid into the massive bed as Damon killed the lights and joined her.

"Thank you again for everything today." I whispered as sleep started to fight me.

"Don't worry about it." Damon brushed it off.

Damon had been so great the entire day; but, I still couldn't help my final thought before giving in to sleep. _Was today an act or is he really this great? Had I gone from a bad situation to a worse one? _

Finally, a this day is over. I didn't think the day was ever going to end. This may be the last chapter I get to post for a little while as I will not have access to internet for a while. I have chapter five ready and may get it uploaded tonight. So, read and review so that when I finally get back I have something to look forward too.


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